Nonprofits & Activism

Documentary films that explore trauma — and make space for healing | Almudena Toral

Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows. Through documentary films following survivors of trauma, TED Fellow Almudena Toral makes invisible psychological scars seen. She shares the heartbreaking story of Adayanci Pérez, a six-year-old girl from Guatemala suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to her encounter with US immigration enforcement. A powerful…

Published

5 years ago

July 9, 2021

CYBER TECH TV

Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows.

Through documentary films following survivors of trauma, TED Fellow Almudena Toral makes invisible psychological scars seen. She shares the heartbreaking story of Adayanci Pérez, a six-year-old girl from Guatemala suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to her encounter with US immigration enforcement. A powerful call to give voice to those who are silenced — and pressure governments to change their course of action.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

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[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]

It’s a warm morning and I’m surrounded
by six-year-old children in a classroom.

One by one, they cheerfully hug
one of their friends

who just came back home from a trip.

They comment on her new dress
and her new hairstyle.

But the girl does nothing.

She looks towards
the distant horizon, eyes fixed.

The kids start wondering
why she doesn’t speak.

The girl’s name is Adayanci,

and the trip she has just
returned from is not a vacation.

She left Guatemala with her dad
in May 2018 for the United States.

Several months later,
she’s back, but she has gone silent.

I’m filming this, feeling overwhelmed,

and finding it difficult to look
through the viewfinder of my camera.

Her post-traumatic
stress disorder is so visible.

I am in tears.

I am a journalist who documents
aftermaths for a living.

The impact, the invisible consequences.

What happens when the media
spotlight is gone?

That’s why I’ve spent hundreds of hours
listening to and watching people

deeply affected by trauma.

Survivors of trafficking,
child rape, gang slavery, forced labor

and immigration enforcement.

Different from the job
of psychiatrist and aid workers,

I’ve dedicated my life
to listening to them

to make their stories public,

in first person, in their own voice.

Despite all of the limitations
of words and photographs and films,

I believe better stories
about the effects of trauma

in people’s lives are essential.

They can show us the real consequences
of seemingly abstract government policies.

They can trigger understanding
across political divides

and awaken our universal sense of empathy.

Survivors like the now deceased Jennifer

taught me that brutal bondage
does not happen far away.

David taught me the horrors
refugees flee from

are scarier than any obstacle
in the quest for safety.

Adayanci brought home for me
that governments of developed nations

also harm using trauma as a weapon.

The word “trauma”
comes from ancient Greek.

It’s the word for “injury”.

It’s the psychological wound that stays

after something really terrible
has happened to us.

It affects our body, our mind,

our memory and our sense
of safety in the world.

War, violence, kidnapping, torture,

they are all causes of trauma.

But it does not only happen
far away, far from you.

In the United States, for example,

several large-scale community studies

have shown that exposure
to violence and terror,

like rape, domestic abuse or trafficking

are common and damaging in times of peace.

What I witnessed
in that classroom in Guatemala

was the aftermath
of the zero-tolerance policy.

It separated children from parents
at the US-Mexico border.

Adayanci was sent to a shelter
and two foster families

while her dad was deported.

In her despair,
she took a pair of scissors

and cut her own hair as a form of protest.

A psychologist diagnosed her
with acute stress,

warning it would become
post-traumatic stress disorder

the longer time passed.

The damage of this type of separation

at an early age,

just like other forms of abuse,

can be permanent
if the child doesn’t receive help.

In order to justify this kind of violence,

there is a will to make certain people
seem very different from us.

Evil, rapists, animals, criminals.

Stripping off their humanity

is a deliberate technique
used by governments

with plenty of examples in history books.

In this case, the so-called
evil, criminal and animal

was a shattered six-year-old girl.

We published Adayanci’s documentary.

The story won a World Press Photo award

thanks to which Adayanci
is receiving therapy in Guatemala.

She’s on her slow way back to recovery,
dancing and daydreaming.

But most others
have not gotten access to care.

Hundreds haven’t even been reunited
with their families.

The trauma these policies cost
can have generational effects.

Even in Adayanci’s fortunate case,

the family has no institutional support
and is in deep debt.

We humans heal from trauma
through feeling safe,

through storytelling

and through establishing connection
with others in our communities.

For this little girl reframing the story
she will tell herself

it’s part of her healing.

For us as a society,

reframing her story and pressuring
our governments to do better

is part of reclaiming
our dignity as equals.

Thank you.

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43 Comments

Kelly Gierat

July 9, 2021 at 3:36 pm

thank you!!!

Reply
Maria

July 9, 2021 at 3:36 pm

Soo great full ❤

Reply
Cher Yan

July 9, 2021 at 3:40 pm

Thanks for making this video! Thank you for your testament to personal strength!!! These videos have been beyond enlightening.

Reply
Irene Astrero

July 9, 2021 at 3:42 pm

I love watching TED talks a lot to learn

Reply
- Abz 16
  
  July 9, 2021 at 3:49 pm
  
  Same with me
  
  Reply
Anonymous Anomaly

July 9, 2021 at 3:43 pm

What about healing from the trauma that the criminal governments have put the world through in the last year and a half (and prior)? Should we stand up to them so that we’re not enabling our own abuse? Hmmm.

Reply
Len Lin

July 9, 2021 at 3:47 pm

As both a psychologist and a trauma survivor, I have to say this has absolutely nothing to do with healing, it is just rubbernecking. I feel deeply sorry for victims who will suffer from flashbacks due to this treatment, and are sent through more exposure, violation of privacy, and humiliation. Really sad to see something like that promoted on this channel.

Reply
TyrranicalT-Rad

July 9, 2021 at 3:59 pm

This documentary chick’s monotonous voice and unblinking stare is creeping me out.

Reply
- Kathy Piazza
  
  July 9, 2021 at 4:07 pm
  
  Good- maybe you will be creeped out enough to share this. The so called right of my country Canada & the USA & other wealthy nations where these desperate people migrate to need to know the damages caused to children when harsh policies are enacted.
  
  Reply
- D_Unknown
  
  July 9, 2021 at 5:32 pm
  
  @Kathy Piazza .. Well said ????????????
  
  Reply
Life Is My Opportunity☀️

July 9, 2021 at 4:19 pm

Namaste????????‍♂️☀️

I’m wishing all that clicked on this video LONG LIFE & PROSPERITY????

Reply
Awake 1975

July 9, 2021 at 4:24 pm

Hard to heal from a lifetime of alien abductions. Severe P.T.S.D. Severe anxiety, severe insomnia, Agoraphobia. Severe Unwilling to be in the dark. Like animals more than people. Basically, I’m a broken person just waiting to die. My doctor says that I have all the characteristics of someone that has seen the horrors war. I believe her.

Reply
True Crime Queen TV

July 9, 2021 at 4:34 pm

Love videos like these!! They’re so well produced. Stay safe everyone ❤️❤️❤️

Reply
Vicky Vazquez

July 9, 2021 at 4:46 pm

Thank you for this!

Reply
Briar Rose

July 9, 2021 at 4:46 pm

Commenting to promote the algorithm.. This is such an important topic to keep talking about & fighting for.????????

Reply
- Jacob Attias
  
  July 14, 2021 at 7:20 am
  
  Soft white underbelly is amazing YouTube channel that deserves to be monetized
  
  Reply
- Briar Rose
  
  July 14, 2021 at 11:36 am
  
  @Jacob Attias I’ll check that out. Thank you. ????????
  
  Reply
Vance H

July 9, 2021 at 5:07 pm

Truth, Unity and Peace for All.

Reply
dyrectory com

July 9, 2021 at 5:17 pm

The truth is many of us have experienced trauma. Some of us have not identified past experiences as traumatic inducing because we are not fully aware of how it affects us – we repress our memories and then question why we react a certain way we do.

When media only highlights the most horrific experiences that lead to trauma.. then we consciously or subconsciously conclude that our past experiences are just bad experiences that we can easily forget / ignore and if we do this we’ll be fine. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Don’t be afraid to see the help you need. Having said this, don’t let the past be a ‘crutch’ and excuse for ________________. ☮ ????

Reply
D_Unknown

July 9, 2021 at 5:33 pm

Thank you for sharing

Reply
Nahuel Zacarias Handpan

July 9, 2021 at 5:55 pm

No, gracias a vos

Reply
blunklex

July 9, 2021 at 6:07 pm

Is so sad that little ones, in this case, are the ones suffering the most.
I pray for one day for the human race to be extinct.

Reply
Dereila 12

July 9, 2021 at 8:23 pm

Such a powerful video. Trauma can be devastating. Thank you <3

Reply
Duncan MacLennan

July 9, 2021 at 10:38 pm

Wow. That 1000-yard stare from the girl made me fall apart inside ????

Reply
Susan Doerr

July 9, 2021 at 10:39 pm

i read that instuments are very helpful to express without words. thank you for your dedication.

Reply
Kelly Vaughn

July 10, 2021 at 12:10 am

Take time to listen, to care, to help be the change you would need if you were in their shoes

Reply
Robin

July 10, 2021 at 12:12 am

Trauma comes from past lives. But past lives actually do not exist as they all happen simultaniously within the ‘forever now’. Your energy is connected with every event in every timeline so when you realise what kind of trauma we experienced as human beings you can also better understand your emotions and feelings that needs to be discovered and healed. There are 28 root trauma’s such as torture, arena, slavery, murder, drowning, medical experiment etc. There are countless of treasures to be found within these traumas but you need to open up to the idea this isn’t the only life we live as human beings.

Reply
- Lavender
  
  July 10, 2021 at 2:17 am
  
  This is an excuse it makes you feel better.
  
  Reply
Mariana Salinas

July 10, 2021 at 4:12 am

Is there somewhere we can watch the documentary?

Reply
- Jacob Attias
  
  July 14, 2021 at 7:21 am
  
  Right? Or any of her other work??
  
  Reply
Blessings On Your Way

July 10, 2021 at 4:42 am

What a beautiful talk

Reply
MegaBaellchen

July 10, 2021 at 2:21 pm

So how does this video actually help? How does it help to educate people on how to help victims of trauma? How does this change our healthcare system to start to listen to their patients instead of just prescribing drugs?

Reply
ishita mavi

July 10, 2021 at 2:38 pm

Commenting for reach.

Reply
kbo6612

July 10, 2021 at 3:23 pm

If they’re here illegally, what is the issue?

Reply
BEBAY

July 10, 2021 at 3:42 pm

Why aren’t the comments turned off? But they are on “certain” videos smh ????????‍♂️ I used to like Ted talk, honestly. It would seem even a channel that shares the truth likes to hide it in their own way ????????‍♂️

Reply
Lisa Love Ministries

July 10, 2021 at 8:51 pm

Luke 10:27????
“So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

Reply
- kbo6612
  
  July 10, 2021 at 9:55 pm
  
  What is your point? The USA takes in more immigrants legally than any other nation. There is also in Exodus 20 the commandment of not bearing false witness against your neighbor. By pushing a false narrative of the U.S. immigration being racist, to keep the USA white, that is exactly what they’re doing. The Pew Research Center, which is non-partisan, shows that there hasn’t been a year where Europeans were the majority of immigrants in well over 50 years. In 2018, half of all legal immigrants came from Latin America; 28% came from Asia, with 13% coming from Europe and Canada. According to the prior acting head of DHS, Kevin McAleenan, 90% of those seeking asylum don’t show up to their asylum hearings.
  
  Reply
- Yithmaster
  
  July 13, 2021 at 3:39 am
  
  John 10:1“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. look I can quote the bible too
  
  Reply
Sarah Jane

July 11, 2021 at 5:02 am

I love that this work is being done. That reporter looks haunted

Reply
The Quotes Studio

July 11, 2021 at 7:44 am

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.

Reply
Rachel K

July 11, 2021 at 2:19 pm

How about the everyday trauma of living in a crazy family?

Reply
hard mode

July 11, 2021 at 7:02 pm

5:05 so lm basically fucked

Reply
Chăm Chó Cùng Tiến

July 13, 2021 at 4:08 am

Really Apreciate your messages

Reply

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